Find out how popular the last name Sylvester is in the United States and learn more about the meaning, history, and race and ethnic origin of people in America who are named Sylvester.

Sylvester, like all of the last names we have data for, is identified by the U.S. Census Bureau as a surname which has more than 100 occurrences in the United States in the Decennial Census survey. The most recent statistics we have for the Sylvester surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Sylvester in America

Sylvester is the 1901st most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Sylvester surname appeared 18,896 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 6 people would have the surname Sylvester.

We can also compare 2010 data for Sylvester to data from the previous census in 2000. The table below contains all of the statistics for both years in a side-by-side comparison.

The history of the last name Sylvester

The surname Sylvester originated in Italy and is derived from the Latin name "Silvester", which translates to "of the woods" or "forest dweller". It is believed to have first emerged as a surname in the region of Lazio, Italy, during the Middle Ages.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Sylvester can be found in the Domesday Book of 1086, which was a comprehensive survey of landholdings in England commissioned by William the Conqueror. In this document, a landowner named Silvester is mentioned as holding lands in Gloucestershire.

Throughout the Middle Ages, the name Sylvester was commonly found in various European regions, including Italy, France, and Germany. One notable individual bearing this surname was Pope Sylvester II, born Gerbert d'Aurillac in around 946 AD, who served as Pope from 999 to 1003 AD. He was a renowned scholar and is credited with introducing Arabic numerals to Europe.

In the 16th century, the surname Sylvester gained prominence in England, where it was often associated with families from the county of Warwickshire. One prominent figure from this era was Joshua Sylvester, an English poet and translator born in 1563, who is best known for his translations of works by French poets such as Guillaume de Salluste Du Bartas.

Another notable individual with the surname Sylvester was James Joseph Sylvester, an English mathematician born in 1814. He made significant contributions to the fields of matrix theory, invariant theory, and the development of mathematical notation. Sylvester served as a professor at various prestigious institutions, including the University of Virginia and Johns Hopkins University.

In the 19th century, the surname Sylvester was also found among notable figures in the United States. One such individual was Richard Sylvester, an American chemist and inventor born in 1828. He is credited with the invention of the Sylvester Process, a method for the industrial production of metallic sodium.

Throughout history, the surname Sylvester has also been associated with various place names and locations, such as Sylvester, Georgia, a town in Worth County, and Sylvester Township in Green Lake County, Wisconsin. These place names likely derived from individuals bearing the Sylvester surname who settled in or were associated with those areas.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Sylvester

We also have some data on the ancestry of people with the surname Sylvester.

The below race categories are the modified race categories used in the Census Bureau's population estimates program. All people were categorized into six mutually exclusive racial and Hispanic origin groups:

1. White only
2. Black only
3. American Indian and Alaskan Native only
4. Asian and Pacific Islander only
5. Hispanic
6. Two or More Races

For the most recent 2010 census data, the race/ethnic origin breakdown for Sylvester was:

Note: Any fields showing (S) means the data was suppressed for privacy so that the data does not in any way identify any specific individuals.

Since we have data from the previous census in 2000, we can also compare the values to see how the popularity of Sylvester has changed in the 10 years between the two census surveys.

Data source

The last name data and ethnic breakdown of last names is sourced directly from the Decennial Census survey, conducted every 10 years by the United States Census Bureau.

The history and meaning of the name Sylvester was researched and written by our team of onomatology and genealogy experts.

If you have a correction or suggestion to improve the history of Sylvester, please contact us.

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